DATE=5/24/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-STUDENT PROTEST O'NITE (L-ONLY))
NUMBER=2-262771
BYLINE=LETA HONG FINCHER
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Up to two-thousand Beijing University students
staged a second night of protests after the murder of
a fellow student. The protests come at an extremely
sensitive time for the Chinese government, less than
two weeks before the anniversary of the violent
crackdown of a large democratic movement at Tiananmen
Square in 1989. VOA's Leta Hong Fincher has this
report from Beijing.
TEXT:
///PROTEST SOUND, THEN FADE///
The protest reached its peak close to nine p-m
Wednesday , when two thousand students lit candles
and marched through the campus of Beijing's most
prestigious university, yelling we demand dialogue,
and down with bureaucracy.
The students say they are still dissatisfied with what
they call a university cover-up of the rape and murder
of nineteen year-old politics major, Qiu Qingfeng.
Ms. Qiu's body was found last Saturday. But campus
officials waited until the following Tuesday to
announce the information.
///STUDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///
A fourth year mathematics student who joined the
protest says students wouldn't be so angry if the
authorities hadn't blocked the information. But even
now, he says, the officials are still cutting
themselves off and being evasive.
The students say they merely want to express their
grief over the lost life of a fellow classmate. But
university officials told them Tuesday they weren't
allowed to hold a public memorial service for Ms. Qiu.
In an extraordinary display of sorrow and anger,
students put up posters, white flowers made of paper
and poems dedicated to their slain classmate. One
poem said : "We'll light a candle in our hearts to
warm your lonely soul". Another poster called for the
resignation of the head of Beijing's security bureau,
saying "we can't stay silent anymore. We must shout
out loudly."
///STUDENT NOISES, THEN FADE///
By midnight Wednesday, the students were still
demanding greater security measures and more dialogue
with university officials. They said they want to be
allowed to communicate freely through their campus
internet bulletin service, which was shut down by the
university early in the day. And most importantly,
they want a formal apology from the University
President over what they call the bad attitude of the
administration.
///PRESIDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///
The University President issued a five-minute
broadcast , which was repeated over and over for more
than an hour, pleading with students to preserve the
stability of the campus. And when that didn't calm
the students, he came out to talk with them in person.
But the students said he didn't meet all of their
demands, and at midnight Wednesday,hundreds of
students were still waiting outside the main
administration building, hoping for more dialogue with
campus officials.
///STUDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///
One student stood on a platform and asked the crowd
:" If this problem isn't resolved tonight, what will
we do tomorrow ? " - "Boycott classes", yelled some of
the students in response.
Throughout the two days of protests, none of the
student leaders have identified themselves by name.
///STUDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///
One student explains : "we don't have a formal
representative, because everyone is too afraid".
(Signed)
NEB/LHF/PT
24-May-2000 15:47 PM EDT (24-May-2000 1947 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
